Rumor Mill Heating Up for Twins

It’s getting closer and closer, creeping up on us like Christmas in July… The MLB Trade Deadline is now 24 days away and counting. So far, the new Twins Front Office has shown its patience by standing pat and waiting for the right deal to come through, before makin that move, even after the “ugly” week or two that saw a .500 baseball team lose 5 games on its Central Division lead, which now sits at just 6.5 games, even after taking the first 2 of 3 vs the Texas Rangers so far this weekend.

But last night (and in the Sunday paper that dropped this morning), LaVelle Neal of the Star Tribune wrote a little trade update that actually singled out specific teams hanging around certain minor leaguers in the Twins’ organization. Here are the names and teams that LaVelle mentioned, in broken-down form:

Creeping Our Minors – Pitcher(s) on the Block:

• Diamondbacks – Zack Greinke
• Blue Jays – Ken Giles, Marcus Stroman
• Padres – Kirby Yates
• Pirates – Felipe Vasquez

Likely Twins’ Org. Trade Candidates

• Nick Gordon (23) – #11 Org. Prospect
• Brent Rooker (24) – #7 Org. Prospect
• Stephen Gonsalves (24) – #12 Org. Prospect

I did some digging of my own and reached out to our friend Darren Wolfson (SKOR North, KSTP – Ch. 5), who told me that the Giants (Madison Bumgarner, Will Smith), Blue Jays (above), and Tigers (Matthew Boyd, Shane Greene) have been hanging out in Fort Myers a lot and also confirmed some reasons as to why the Twins’ trade pieces, that LaVelle mentioned, make sense. 

We’ve discussed one of those reasons on this site multiple times too. Nick Gordon and Brent Rooker make sense because they are valuable assets that are just about ready to enter the MLB, at positions of depth (middle infield, corner outfield) inside of our organization. However, Stephen Gonsalves is a different story. Even though he is a pitcher (which we desperately need more of), trading him could open a 40-man roster spot this winter, which the Twins will definitely need when that time comes.

In LaVelle’s piece from last night, he also reiterates that the Twins are making sure they aren’t missing a loaded playoff gun, hidden inside of their own organization. Obviously, the Twins are going to make sure they are exhausting all avenues. That’s a good quality for an MLB organization to have. But, let’s be real. Adalberto Mejia and Zach Littell aren’t going to make the difference in a World Series run.

No Rush……. yet.

There are plenty of fans around Twins’ Nation that are starting to get impatient on trade talks, especially when we went on our 2-week slide at the end of June. I can’t blame them. The Twins have earned their reputation as inactive penny pinchers and I’m not going to judge anyone who doubts that this new regime will bring any real changes to that train of thought.

However, Cleveland might be winning some games now but they aren’t built for the long-haul. We are getting ready for a World Series run. That’s what matters. So I will say this to the Falvine Train, as they sit up in their ivory castle, with their fingers directly on the heart of Minnesota sports fans around the nation: 

I will remain patient right to the closing seconds of this year’s trade deadline. I have put full faith in you and have gone against all of my minnesota sports fan instincts, in trusting that you will get something major done by July 31st. Don’t make me look like an idiot. Seriously, you don’t want to fuck this up. Fans will riot and I will be at the front of the mob. You don’t want that.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan